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It’s time for another look back at “The Kennex and Dorian Bromance Hour,” otherwise known as Almost Human! Actually, this episode, “Skin,” isn’t so much about the bromance as it is about the concept of death and coping with inevitability. Well, I have to amend my statement a little — there’s a big bromancy element in the middle of the episode. More on that later.

I’ve mentioned that the theme of this recap series will be “What Exactly Went Wrong.” But honestly, if there was something that went wrong to end the show, it certainly wasn’t in this episode. “Skin” is probably one of the top five episodes of the series. Why? Read on.

The episode starts with a woman, presumably a high-end prostitute, entertaining a male client. The client isn’t a normal client — the man is doing several tests on the woman, including cutting off a little snippet of her vibrant red hair. Before the man can thank the woman and leave, some flash-mask-wearing criminals show up, kill the man and tell the woman to come with them. It would seem she knows these men, so she happily agrees to join them.

We soon find out this woman isn’t a normal woman — she’s a sexbot. She’s also not a regular sexbot — she’s the cream of the crop when it comes to sexbots and, obviously, her value is important to the gangsters. They don’t want her secrets found out because her secrets could land them in prison.

Kennex and Dorian are called to the scene of the crime. Dorian finds out that the man is Sebastian Jones, a onetime designer of top-of-the-line sexbots. The woman he was with was a very sophisticated sexbot, one he was studying to learn what makes her so unique. The mystery, though, isn’t why Sebastian was killed. The real mystery is why the sexbot, Charlene, has another woman’s DNA on her person.

Once again, the race is on for Kennex and Dorian, who have to save a young mother who was kidnapped by the same gangsters. The woman pleads with ringleader Yuri, saying they can take her money, anything they want, if they just let her go. Yuri says he has everything he wants — her. To be more specific, what he wants is her skin.

Yes, the reason why Charlene comes up in Dorian’s computer databanks as another woman and why the young mother was kidnapped is because the gangsters are using women for skin harvesting. Charlene’s human skin makes her a hot item (and I mean “hot” as in illegal). But it makes her — and other sexbots like her — some of the most coveted sexbots in the business.

For our police duo to find the missing mother, they have to interview her young son, Victor. The problem, though, is that we’ve already seen Kennex behave horribly around children. When Kennex and Dorian first go to the crime scene, Dorian is shown entertaining some kids with his “disco face” while Kennex, who delights in the anguish of children, sticks a pocket knife into his fake leg, sending the kids away screaming. Kennex must have a lot of disposable money to ruin his synthetic leg like that. Regardless of whether it can regenerate itself after sustaining wounds, sticking sharp objects into expensive machinery should be a no-go, especially if his behavior toward his leg affects his health insurance rates. Oh, well — I’m putting too much real-life worry into a fun futuristic cop show. Back to the story.

As has been established, Kennex doesn’t have a great track record with kids. Or, as Dorian added, cats. But Kennex does manage to pull it together when he has to interview Victor. After suffering some “These humans be crazy”-esque eye-rolling from Dorian, Kennex kindly bribes Victor into telling what he saw with a technologically advanced toy giraffe. There should be a backstory on how that awesome toy-turned-paperweight landed on Kennex the Grinch’s desk.

The case leads Kennex and Dorian to a prominent sexbot company run by Lorenzo Shaw, Sebastian’s old partner. Lorenzo was suing Sebastian for intellectual property infringement at the time of Sebastian’s death. The reason? Sebastian’s drive to create the perfect sexbot ran their company into the ground, and Lorenzo was trying to regain control of some of the designs. Kennex questions — or tries to question — Lorenzo about the usage of human skin on sexbots. However, the sexbots (most of them women, but there are some men, too) are giving Kennex the once-over, affecting him in ways they couldn’t affect Dorian (we think). And in any case, Lorenzo doesn’t create illegal bots. He runs a clean business, even if his former clients were the Albanians.

Once they’re back in the car, Dorian brings up Kennex’s response to the sexbots, which becomes one of the most hilariously awkward scenes in John/Kennex history. Dorian, who has taken it upon himself to create a dating profile for Kennex, tells Kennex that he’s scanned his genitals and weirdly suggests that Kennex should take care of that. Kennex, of course, is mortified and incredibly annoyed. Yes, Dorian has the ability to scan people’s vitals and probably does so out of habit (or boredom), but he also has the ability of forethought. He would know it’s inappropriate to do that unless someone’s life was in danger. Why do it now? Just asking. In any case, we also get our first impression from Dorian when he makes fun of Kennex stumbling on his words when talking to his crush, Stahl. I really never got the impression that Stahl was as into him as he was into her. She just seemed to humor him a lot of the time, as if he were a cute puppy dog.

Stahl feeds them the lead they’re looking for, but when they get to where the mother could be, all they find is the skinned body of Charlene. The amount of gross elements and awesome technological ideas in this show is impressive on many levels. These details really sell the world to the viewer, and I’m impressed by the sheer amount of artistry it took to create the props and special effects. Flash masks, car-tag scramblers, the refurbishment of the DRN tech in the sexbots — all of these elements are cool in their own right, but they also work together to successfully sell futuristic America to the viewer.

Charlene’s body is taken back to Rudy’s lab, who matter-of-factly rips the poor bot’s head open to get to her memory. If Dorian had a gag reflex, it would have been working overtime during this scene. As it stands, all he can do is wince and look generally put out. Rudy apologizes for the brutal display, but unfortunately, the awful ordeal was all for naught — Charlene’s memory was fried. Rudy states that he’s going to need “a live one,” and Kennex and Dorian deliver said “live one” in the form of Vanessa, another sexbot with human skin. I have a lot to say about Vanessa and the actress who portrayed her, which you can read at the bottom of the post.

While Kennex and Dorian are on their way to acquiring Vanessa, the brutality of Charlene’s body being violated puts Dorian into the existential mindset a lot of us have from time to time when we are confronted with death. Even though he’d been deactivated before, Dorian doesn’t know what to make of death. I believe, if I’m remembering the season correctly, his memories of deactivation were erased, so he’s just as blind to death as the rest of us mortals. Kennex tells him that most people tell others that the deceased have “gone to a better place.” When Dorian asks why humans say such things when we have no proof of that actually being true, Kennex says that humans need to believe it to feel hope. Also revealed: Kennex has yet to speak to his late partner’s family — his partner’s son in particular. It’s a pretty bleak conversation, but it provides for some really great character moments later in the episode.

Vanessa teaches Kennex another lesson in Respecting Androids 101 when Kennex tries to figure out where she was made. Dorian, who is always mildly annoyed at Kennex’s ignorance, says that instead of asking “Where were you made?” and “Who owns you?” he needs to say when and where she was born. She answers that Yuri is the man they usually answer to, but what also comes to light is a bond Vanessa forms with Dorian, who seems to have become a little bit of a big brother to her in this short amount of time. If only they could have had more episodes together.

After another awkward scene — this one involving sexbot lover Rudy trying to get into Vanessa’s memory without being seduced in the process — Kennex and Dorian finally have all the info they need to bust Yuri at his sexbot club. They are able to find and save Victor’s mom and the woman whose skin was used for Charlene. Unfortunately, the woman used for Vanessa was dead on arrival.

Victor’s mom is reunited with her son, who smiles a goodbye to Kennex while holding his new toy giraffe. Victor — and Dorian’s discussion about death and Kennex’s late partner — reminds Kennex that it’s time to do one last favor and have a heart-to-heart with his partner’s son. Dorian also has his own heart-to-heart with Vanessa, who unfortunately has to be deactivated due to her illegal skin. It’s a strange scene, to be honest, seeing two androids discuss very human matters in very android-like ways. It is undoubtedly one of the most creative and poignant scenes in the series.

It also helped that the actress playing Vanessa, Ella Thomas, was incredible as a robot who has a “mind” that’s right on the cusp of being fully conscious. The way she carried herself, especially when it came to how she used her eyes and made her smile slightly hollow, was magnificent. Just like how Michael Ealy makes Dorian a believable character, Thomas gave Vanessa amazing realism and believability. I was completely sold.

Expression Of JoyThe Brady Bunch: Groovy! The Bradys: Ritual hugging Married…With Children: ”Oh, great.” Thirtysomething: ”Of course I’m happy for you. Really. But what about me? Why does it always have to be about you? The Flintstones: ”Yabba-dabba doo

Expression Of Rage

The Brady Bunch: ”Hmmm…” The Bradys: ”If you back away from something you really want, then you’re a quitter!” (the angriest any Brady has ever been) Married…With Children: ”Aaagh, God, take me from this miserable life!” Thirtysomething: ”I’m not angry, OK?” The Flintstones: ”Willllmaaaa!”

Typical ProblemThe Brady Bunch: Marcia and her rival both want to be the prom queen. The Bradys: Bobby gets paralyzed. Married…With Children: Al doesn’t buy his family Christmas presents. Thirtysomething: Nancy gets cancer. The Flintstones: Fred and Barney are staying out too late.

Typical SolutionThe Brady Bunch: The prom committee decides to have two queens. The Bradys: Bobby gets married. Married…With Children: They hate him. Thirtysomething: If only we knew… The Flintstones: Wilma and Betty decide to follow them.

Attitude Toward SexThe Brady Bunch: Never heard of it The Bradys: Omigod — even Cindy does it! Married…With Children: Peg: Yes. Al: No. Thirtysomething: They didn’t get all those kids by accident. The Flintstones: Prehistoric

How Spouses FightThe Brady Bunch: They don’t. The Bradys: Infrequently, but it happens Married…With Children: Tooth and nail Thirtysomething: They stop talking The Flintstones: Fred and Barney go bowling while Wilma and Betty max out their charge cards.

How Kids Get Into TroubleThe Brady Bunch: Greg takes a puff of a cigarette. The Bradys: Carol’s grandson steals her business cards and sticks them in the spokes of Bobby’s wheelchair. Married…With Children: By committing felonies Thirtysomething: Ethan plays with a forbidden toy rocket. The Flintstones: They don’t.

How They’re Punished

The Brady Bunch: ”It’s not what you did, honey — it’s that you couldn’t come to us.” The Bradys ”Next time, ask.” Married…With Children: By the authorities Thirtysomething: It blows up in his face. The Flintstones: They’re not.

What Family Does For FunThe Brady Bunch: Takes special three-part vacations to Hawaii and the Grand Canyon The Bradys: Has flashbacks Married…With Children: Exchanges insults Thirtysomething: Talks The Flintstones: Attends showings of The Monster at the Bedrock Drive-In

Unsolved MysteriesThe Brady Bunch: How exactly did Carol’s first husband and Mike’s first wife die? The Bradys: What’s with Marcia’s new face and Bobby’s blonde hair Married…With Children: What kind of hair spray does Peg use? Thirtysomething: Why did Nancy take Elliot back? What do Gary and Susanna see in each other? The Flintstones: How does Barney’s shirt stay on if he has no shoulders? Where do Fred and Wilma plug in their TV?

Worst BehaviorThe Brady Bunch: The Brady children once made Alice feel under-appreciated.

Best Reason To WatchThe Brady Bunch: This is what life should be. The Bradys: They’re all grown-ups now! Married…With Children: Terry Rakolta hates it. Thirtysomething (Tie) This is your life. This isn’t your life. The Flintstones: This is what life might have been.

Best Reason Not To WatchThe Brady Bunch: Blurred vision from rerun overdoses. The Bradys: You’re all grown-ups now. Married…With Children: She has a point. Thirtysomething: After a while, you think it’s real. The Flintstones: The Simpsons